One of the most fascinating subtexts to the dramatic story unfolding at Augusta National on Sunday night was the muted reaction to the breakthrough Major victory of an ace who should be an All-American hero.

This is, after all, Mr Stars & Stripes we’re talking about.

The Team USA talisman who inspired the Ryder Cup victory his brow-beaten country had craved after spending the majority of the past 20 years playing second fiddle to Europe.

Reed faces the press after outdueling McIlroy to win Masters

The fist-pumping, finger-pointing brawler who went head to head with Rory McIlroy in the first duel of the final-day singles and took down Europe’s star man in a bristling, high-octane encounter.

So how could it be when the pair were reunited on Augusta’s first tee on Sunday afternoon it was McIlroy who got the loudest cheers from the hordes behind the ropes?

The simple answer is from Augusta’s patrons to his peers, Reed is simply unpopular.

Of course he’s by no means the only bloke with an unfortunate manner to have been helped into the most coveted item of clothing in golf.

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For instance God help any poor former Masters winner who cops a seat wedged in between Reed and Sir Nick Faldo at next year’s Champions Dinner.

The point is there are plenty of successful sportsmen and women out there whose aloof, difficult nature makes them hard to love no matter the greatness of their achievements.

So what makes Reed such a pantomime villain? Why has the response to his greatest moment in golf been so grudgingly lukewarm?

Forget him making a big show of putting his index finger to his lips to shush the Gleneagles crowd when he holed a crucial putt during his Ryder Cup debut in 2014.

(Image: Lynne Cameron/PA Wire)

That was pure theatre and to be honest the European fans loved him impishly playing up to them that day.

In a sport increasingly populated by robots who speak the same bland media-trained phrases and reveal little of themselves, genuine characters are rare blessings to cherish.

But it’s the perceived dark flaws within this particular character that lie at the heart of his unpopularity.

Driven, combative and unashamedly confident to a point way beyond arrogance, the young Reed quickly alienated himself in not one but two college golf teams during his late teens.

Kicked off the University of Georgia’s golf team amid accusations of cheating on the course and thieving from his team-mates in the locker room, the stigma follows him to this day.

(Image: Getty Images North America)

Former Georgia team-mates Russell Henley, Harris English, Hudson Swafford and Brian Harman – all of whom are now his peers on the PGA Tour – don’t speak publicly about the details of that spell around 2008.

But even now there’s a private joke among certain players that when Reed walks into a locker room they say: “Hide your things. Patrick’s here.”

What an atmosphere that must be for a guy going into his work in the morning but all accounts about Reed’s brash nature would suggest he couldn’t care less. He’s used to conflict.

Estranged from his parents and sister Hannah since 2011, it’s ironic he should rack up a career-defining success in their home town of Augusta without them on the premises to see it.

No surprise considering his wife Justine had security remove them from the US Open in 2014.

(Image: Getty Images North America)

But again why should a turbulent personal life affect the way American fans react towards a home-grown Major champion?

After all, just look at the love still given to Tiger Woods despite the scandals and an even more overtly aloof nature that has only recently showed signs of thawing.

Maybe it’s because the late charges of Jordan Spieth and Rickie Fowler offered the fans hope of a more popular, fashionable, clean cut and – let’s face it – better looking alternative success story to the loudmouth fat kid.

Whatever the reason for his unpopularity the fact is Reed is here to stay because I’d wager this first Major will not be his last. The gutsy manner in which he saw off McIlroy then held off that star-studded chasing pack on the back nine will only have expanded a self-belief infamously swelled to bursting point.

At 27 he’ll build on this whether his peers like it or not.

That’s an ominous prospect for European Ryder Cup captain Thomas Bjorn as he stares at a leaderboard with three Americans at the top.

Added to the stat is all four Major titles now rest in the clutches of Uncle Sam.